Viernes, 13/5/2016: IVA increase approved, Gov’t objects to newspaper headline, Holistic health expo, More earthquake aid

Hola, Todos –

Happy Friday the 13th and hope you didn’t walk under any ladders.

Pagina cultural –

Upcoming events –

Desfile (parade – your word for the day – Cuenca’s got more of these than Carters got pills.  You youngsters might not recognize that phrase, but we ancianos do.) – There will be a parade Sat. at 10:00 starting from parque San Blas to commemorate the Día Internacional de los Museos which is actually on 18/5. (So quit griping about how Cuencanans are late for everything.)
 
Clowns – “Caberet Clown” will be performed Sat. at 20:00 in the Teatro de Bolsillo del Sono (calle Pres. Borrero 6-83) by the Corporación Quijotadas.”  It’s about a group of clowns who are affected by the financial crisis and unemployed. They go to work at a caberet – and that’s when the laughs start.  (Since it’s clowns, it might not matter if you don’t know Spanish.)

Workshop – There will be a sculpture workshop tomorrow (Sat.) from 10:30-12:30 at “El Saloón” Café Bar for kids from 5-10. They will be working in porcelana fría (cold porcelain, whatever that is.  Play-doh with a new name?). Cost: $4.00 including materials.
 
Finished events –

Dance – There was a dance performance outside the School of Economics at the U of Cuenca Fri. morning.

Articles about –
 
El Festival Colegial de Artes Escénicas (High School Scenic Arts Festival) – The festival, in its 14th year, will be from Mon-Fri of next week with theater and dance clubs from 13 high schools strutting their stuff.  The inauguration will be on Mon. at 16:00 in the auditorium of the U of Azuay.  Performances the following days will also start at 16:00 with 3 or 4 works presented each day.  (I bet the audience will be packed with teenagers and their families.  Maybe that’s why the symphony is full of extranjeros – all the Ecuadorians are watching their kids perform.)
 
“Tierras Lejanas” (Faraway Lands) – are 18 paintings by Juan Francisco Idrovo which are part of the “Décima Exhibición de Arte Ecuatoriano” (10th Ecuadorian Art Exhibit) showing in Toronto, Canada.  The exhibit is organized by the Asociación de Ecuatorianos de Ontario.  (Just like the Borg (and Chinese) – Ecuadorians in every part of the world.)

Reading project – “Producción y difusión lectora en la ciudad” (Reading production and diffusion in the city) is a program that brings authors to high schools.  The authors read from their own works.  (The photo shows a woman reading out loud, and a table full of students looking bored and patient.  One student looks like she’s asleep.  Must not be the most exciting story.)

Otras cosas –

Titular – Subsidio para buses será de 2′.850.000/mes (Bus subsidy will be $2,850,000/month). 307,000 passengers benefit from this subsidy of $.13 per ride. Of the 307,000, 67% are children and teens, 13% disabled, and 20% elderly.  The subsidy of $600/mo/bus will run for 10 months to July, 2016, retroactive from Oct., 2015.

IVA – The law increasing the IVA from 12 to 14% for up to one year was approved with 94 ayes, 26 nays and 7 abstaining.  The law also included a 10% IVA for payments made with electronic money.  (So is putting your money in your telephone worth saving 4% in sales tax?)  There was something else about a contribution (a tax?) of .9% on wages, assets, utilities and properties in Ecuador and 1.8% for legal persons in tax havens. (You’re going to need a much better translator than I to figure that paragraph out.)
 
Digital portals – Journalists and representatives from 5 websites including Plan V, Mil Hojas, Focus, 4 Pelagatos y Fundamedios announced international action because of “systematic attacks” against them for criticizing the government.  Focus was suspended on Mon. for publishing an article about irregularities of the ex-manager of Petroecuador, Alex Bravo, who was listed in the Panama Papers.

El Mercurio – The Superintendent of Information and Communication decided to admonish El Mercurio for an article headlined, “Gente pide agua; Correa sube el IVA.” (People ask for water; Correa raises the IVA).  The paper is appealing and said its information was correct and part of 5 pages of earthquake coverage.  (I guess the implication was that people needed water and got more taxes instead? Sounds like Cliven Bundy was interpreting that headline.)

Holistic Health Expo – The “Expo de Salud Holística 2016” will be held on 21/5 from 13-17:00 at CEDEI (Gran Colombia 11-02 y General Torres) with more than 30 exhibitors.
 
Mask workshop – A workshop on maskmaking taught by craftsmen from Píllaro (as in the Diablos de Piíllaro) will be held from 25/7 to 3/6 at the Centro Cultural El Ángel de Chaguarchimbana.

Quake aid – Spain, in addition to sending rescue teams, water purification systems and medicines is offering financial assistance in the form of credit and debt swap programs.
 
San Francisco Plaza – Two proposals for the mobile booths were approved by the Historic Areas and Heritage Commission. In the next 15 days, prototypes will be built and displayed at the plaza.

Airport relocation – A commission of councilpeople from Cuenca, Oña y Nabón visited a proposed site at the entrance to Shiña which is a possible location for a new airport.  (I hope that’s not as far from Cuenca as Tabalela is from Quito.  If so, you might as well drive down to Guayaquil.)

Shuar folkdance and chonta and serpent festival – the 1st Festival de Danza Folclórica Shuar de la Chonta y la Culebra is Sat. in the Guayzimi Sports Center, in the Nangaritza cantón, Zamora Chinchipe. The dance competition with different Amazonian groups will start at 19:00. There will be a book launch and symposium at 10:00 on the Shuar culture, and an expo with chonta based foods at 13:00. The chonta is the fruit of a type of palm and is supposed to taste and have the texture of roasted chestnuts.

Amenidades –
 
Movies – as usual, go to www.multicines.com.ec for show times and locations.  The following movie opens this week.
2D & 3D – Angry Birds – Esp.
The following movies are continuing.  All are in Spanish.
2 & 3D Capitán América
2D Milagros del cielo
2D El libro de la selva
2D Tan distintos
2D El cazador y la reina de hielo
2D Atrapa la bandera
2D La bruja
(Sorry, but you monolinguists are out of luck this week.  What would you do without Netflix, Slingbox and all that other stuff? Die of boredom or move back to the US?)

Fashion show – “Diversidad” is a show with designs by U of Azuay students studying textiles and fashion, the “Modelar Ecuador” modeling school, and the Oriflame cosmetics company. It will be Sat., 14/7 at 15:00 in the Hotel Zahir 360 (Av. Del Estadio y Florencia Astudillo).  The clothes will be casual, corporate and típico (fashion students’ takes on ethnic dress with a touch of fantasy meets Cher.)

Internacional –
 
Brazil – Michel Temer assumed interim presidential duties yesterday in a quiet ceremony.  (Should be quiet if you think of it as a funeral for Brazilian democracy.) Temer asked for confidence from the financial markets, said he’d reduce the number of ministries from 31 to 24 as a start on controlling public spending.  He stressed that he’ll maintain social programs for the poorest.  (If you believe that, I`ve got a bridge to sell you.)  His cabinet will be composed of people from the center-right.  There are only men in his cabinet.  (Well, that also tells you something about this guy.)

Venezuela – Chavistas who support Pres. Maduro are calling for a march tomorrow to defend their right to organize. This is the same day the opposition has scheduled a march to put pressure on moving forward with a referendum to remove Maduro. (I wonder if Sunday’s headlines will read “Bloody confrontation” or “Peaceful coexistence”?)

And that´s all for today so Hasta Domingo –

Jeanne